Herbal Oils & External Care
Herbal oils, tailams, balms and other external-use Ayurvedic preparations for massage and outer application, with guidance on labels and patch-testing.
Massage Oils
Ayurvedic massage oils on sesame, coconut or mustard bases, infused with herbs for daily abhyanga…
External-Use Tailams
External-use tailams are classical Ayurvedic oils such as Mahanarayan, Pinda and Kottamchukkadi t…
Balms
Ayurvedic herbal balms with camphor, menthol, eucalyptus or wintergreen in a wax base, rubbed on…
Other Approved External Preparations
Approved external preparations that are not oils or balms, such as lepa powders, herbal pastes, l…
The Sunday oil massage before a bath is a ritual many Indians grew up with: a grandmother working warm oil into a child's arms and back on the verandah. Herbal oils and external-care products carry that habit forward, and everything in this family is meant for the outside of the body only.
Massage oils are general body oils, often sesame or coconut based and infused with herbs, used for abhyanga or a quick self-massage. External-use tailams are classical oil preparations such as Mahanarayan or Pinda taila, made to textual recipes. Balms are thick, wax-based rubs in small tins, usually strongly aromatic. A last group gathers other approved external forms like herbal pastes, lepas and liniments.
Because all of these sit on the skin, patch-test a little on the inner arm and wait a day before wider use. Keep them away from the eyes, mouth and broken skin, and wash your hands after a strong balm.
On the pack, find the base oil and herb list, any wording that restricts it to outer use, who made it and under which licence, the batch code and the date it expires. For help matching an oil to your routine, a qualified Ayurvedic practitioner is the right person to ask.
Store bottles capped and away from sunlight; if an oil starts to smell sharp or stale, replace the bottle.